Get your week started with the latest news in women’s cycling:
Swiss cycling has named its participants for the UCI Track World Championships: Léna Mettraux, Aline Seitz and Andrea Waldis
Flanders Classics and KPMG Belgium have announced their new collaboration in women’s cycling, working together to improve the overall level of the organisers of women’s cycling races. They plan to upgrade the facilities around those events, including increasing live streaming, and also aim to equalise prize money.
Cycling Vlaanderen has as one of its goals the increase in the number of girls racing bikes. The idea behind the initiative is to get more girls involved and grow the pool from which to draw future champions. Investing in the future generation of female cyclists seems like a sound investment!
Four-time Olympic gold champion Laura Kenny announced that she will skip shoulder surgery sustained after her fall at a World Cup event last month, in order to be able to take part at the Track World Championships.
USA Cycling has announced their “Wellbeing program.” The organisation will now be offering pro-bono services to support the overall wellbeing of USA Cycling Team athletes and contractors at either junior or elite levels, including retired personnel. Confidential counselling and mental health services are also now available for those who have suffered from trauma.
Italian MTB and cyclocross rider Eva Lechner will be riding in the upcoming season for the new UCI TRINX Factory Team.
The UCI has decided to postpone all upcoming Chinese races because of the corona virus. These races would have been held in April and May, including the Tour of Chongming Island (WWT).
Results
At the inaugural Dubai Women’s Tour Lucy van der Haar (Hitec Products – Birk Sport) took the win on stage 1, while Tatsiana Sharakova (Minsk Cycling) came second ahead of Samah Khaled (Team UAE). The second stage went to Samah Khaled ahead of Lucy van der Haar and Kim de Baat (Team Ciclotel). Day three saw Tatsiana Sharakova win ahead of Daniela Atehortua (Colnago Cycling) and Lucy van der Haar. The final stage went to Nicole Steigenga (Doltcini-Van Eyck Sport) ahead of Amalie Lutro (Hitec Products) and Carmela Cipriani (Aromitalia Vaiano). The overall winner was Lucy van der Haar.
At the Setmana Ciclista Valenciana, Emma Norsgaard Jorgensen (Bigla-KATUSHA) won the first stage ahead of Arlenis Sierra and Jip van den Bos, while the second stage went to Anna van der Breggen (Boels-Dolmans) ahead of Demi Vollering (Parkhotel Valkenburg) and Clara Koppenburg (Bigla-KATUSHA). Stage 3 saw Lizbeth Yareli Salzar (Astana) take the win ahead of Elizabeth Holden (Bizkaia Durango) and Arlenis Sierra (Astana). The final stage went to Leah Thomas (Bigla-KATUSHA) ahead of Katie Hall (Boels-Dolmans) and Mavi Garcia (Spain). The overall title went to Anna van der Breggen, with Clara Koppenburg finishing second ahead of Demi Vollering.
Denise Betsema won the Rectavit Series Cyclo-cross GP Leuven in Belgium ahead of Annemarie Worst and Sanne Cant.
Zwift Blog
Lauren Kitchen joins us with her first blog on “The Aussie Summer of Cycling,” sharing with you her experiences in Australia, and providing an insight into the forthcoming classics.
In her first blog of the year, Chloe Hosking writes about starting the season riding for Rally Cycling and what it means to be part of a new team. Have a read of her piece ,“A new decade brings a new team,” and find out what’s important when a rider moves from one team to another
#ICYMI from Voxwomen
In our latest edition of the Sunday Supplement, Voxwomen spoke to Pauline Ferrand Prevot about how she got into cycling, her successes and setbacks and what MTB really means to her.
The GoZwift VoxTour is back again this year with a brand new “I Ride In Style”-designed limited edition jersey. The jersey will carry the inspiring message “Together we can do more than we ever will alone,” created by last year’s winner of our competition Mary Wilkinson. If you missed the ride with Laura Winter, Hannah Walker, Dani Rowe and Jess Pratt last week you can still sign up to ride with Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio on 24-25 February. For more information on this fantastic event click here
The Voxwomen Podcast
The first episode of our podcast 2020 is here. Chloe Hosking, Amanda Spratt, Ina-Yoko Teutenberg and Kimberley Conte talk about the Tour Down Under, giving their insights and comments on the Australian cycling event. Join us and be part of what’s happening in women’s cycling.
This week in cycling history…
Ethel Brambleby passed away on 22 February 2011 at the age of 93. This British rider did much to achieve acceptance for women in cycle racing. Ethel’s first race was in 1933, and her final appearance was in 2000. During her career, she had to overcome the strong prejudice that existed in the 1930’s against women riding competitively. The start of her time trial career, which was her strongest discipline, was in men’s events. However, the Road Racing Council quickly banned this practice, declaring women were only to ride against women. Brambleby was not only active in the competitive side of cycling, having held several records, but also organised events, including national championships, held committee positions, and wrote for various cycling publications. She was present in the inaugural Women’s Road Record Association in 1934, an organisation that was founded in response to the Road Records Association refusing to recognise women’s records. Although fame and money may have eluded her, she was an important lifelong campaigner for women’s participation in the sport of cycling.
Voxwomen Online Shop
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